Air-ship.



WITNESSES:

- W. HULL.

AIR SHIP.

PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

APPLICATION FILED APB.7,1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ATTORNEYS .No. 856,876. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

w. HULL.-

AIR SHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APB-.7, 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

i I INVENTOHA I M d 7/27/1m1J/11/Z a I Br A TTORNE Y8 W. HULL.

AIR SHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APR-7,1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

W. HULL.

AIR SHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1, 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

TNESSES:

PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

w. HULL. AIR SHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7,1905.

6 SHEETS-SKEET 5v INVENTOl-T BY ZL MWQK A TTURNE Y8 WILLIAM HULL, OF SOURIS, MANITOBA, CANADA.

AIR-SHIP.

No. ssasve.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed April 7,1905- Serial No. 254,308.

To all whom it TIMI/y concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HULL, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Souris, in the Province of Manitoba and Dominion,of Canada, have invented a new and Improved Air-Ship, of which the f 01- lowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention is an improvement in air ships and consists in certain novel constructions and Combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing-Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimprovement, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the body of the machine with the sails broken away, Fig. 3 is a side elevation, Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 2 showing certain details of construction, Fig. 5 is a view of certain details to be described, Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view showing certain details in plan, Figs. 7 and 8 are modifications of details which come within the'scope of my invention, and Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the machine.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the. drawing, the framework 1' of the machine supports a motor, only the shield or hood 2thereof being shown, and said motor being provided with a main shaft 3 extending therefrom in .two directions, and having thereon a pulley 4. at each end, the shaft being supported in bearings 5 near each end thereof. r i

' The ends of the shaft 3 are provided with pulleys 4, and belts 6 connect the pulleys 4 with pulleys 7 upon a countershaft 8 ournaled transversely in the machine, and provided with pinions 9 meshing with the circular racks 10 upon the rear surfaces of a pair of rotary propellers 11, the propellers being rotated in opposite directlons by the motor by means of the connections described, and being located at the front.of the machine as 'shown in Fig. 1.

The propellers comprise a circular rim 1 1, and a hub 11*, having arranged therebetween a plurality of inclined radial vanes 12 and the edges of the rim' rest against a plurality of roller bearings 13, supported by braces 14, extending across the machine at the front thereof. A second motor represented b the hood or shield 15, having bear-' ings' 16 or the motor shaft 1.7, is arranged transversely of the machine at approximately the center thereof, and the ends of the j ournale shaft 17 are provided with pulleys 20, sup- 55 porting belts 21, one of which is crossed as shown in the drawing, the belts connecting the pulle s 20 with pulleys 22 upon shafts 23,

(I in bearings 24 upon the framework of the machine, and carrying pinions 25 for a purpose to be described.

The pinions 25 are located between circular racks 26 and 27, and mesh therewith, the racks 26, 27, being secured to rotary propellers 28 and 29, similar tothe ropellers 11 before described. The rims of t 1e propellers 28 and 29, are supported by the roller bearings 30, 31, 32 and 33 mounted upon the cross rods or braces 34, passing across the upper part of the framework 1. It is obvious that through the connection above described,

the propellers 28 and 29 will-be rotated in opposite directions, thus attaining greater steadiness of the machine. These propellers are designed to assist in elevating the machine, while the propellers 11 are designed to move it in a forward direction.

The pro ellers 28 and 29 comprise a rim 28, and a ub 38, the hub and rim being connected by the inclined radial vanes 35, secured to the hub by the bolts 37 as shown in Fig. 2, or by means of adjustable rods 39 shown in Fig. 8. In the construction shown in Fig. 8, the vane is provided with a plurality of openin s 35, and the rods 39 are provided with ooked ends engagin the o enings, whereby to vary the inclinatlon of t e vane, and the outer end of the vane fits loosely between the flanges of the rim. The vanes 35 are inclined in opposite directions in the propellers 28 and 29 and the same is true of the vanes 12 of the propellers'l 1.

A modification of the vane construction is shown in Fig. 7. In this modification the vanes 35 are provided witha dependin skeleton projection41,which is hinged to t e preceding vane in the series, the hinge being provided with a spring 42. Inthis construction, the air can ass freely between the Wings except when t ey are closed upon the hinges, the construction being designed to divide the cross currents of air and to permit of the use of the apparatus as a parachute. This latter function is obtained by the operation of the s ring 42, the tendency of the vanes being to c ose against each other when the device is moving downward, owing to the upward pressure of the air Each of the vanes projects beyond the depending portion 42, in

such manner that when the vane is closed are connected by straps 49 with the rollers 46. The rollers 47 are, provided with springs 44 for normally retaining the canvasrolled up on the rollers, and when the rollers 45 are op-' erated to wind up the straps 49, the canvas sheets 48 will be unrolled as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, thereby forming sails or wings which will tend in an obvious manner to check the downward movement of the machine. The rollers 45 are operated by means of sprocket wheels 50 connected by chains 51 with sprocket Wheels 52, on a stud shaft journaled in the frame and provided with a handle 53 for convenience in manipulating the same. It is obvious that the wings 48 might be placed near the bottom, but in practice it is preferable to place them near the top, whereby to better balance the device in descending, and the wings are inclined down; wardly and backwardly, whereby to permit the front propellers to assist in elevating the machine.

Rollers 55 are j ournaled within the bodyof the frame at each side of the bottom thereof, and inflatable bags 56 of rubber or other impervious material are connected with the rollers to be wound thereon, the free ends of the bags being provided with straps 60 Winding upon a roller 61 the said roller 61 being providedwith ahandle 59 whereby to ma nipulate the same. The bags 56 are for the purpose of containing gas to assist in elevating the machine, and to act as floats when the machine ,is on the water. the bags inflated.

A framework 65 extends from the rear of the machine, and is braced by suitable braces 66. Vertical rollers 67 are journaled. on the outer end of the framework 65 at the corners and at the center thereof, and sheets '68 of canvas or other flexible material are wound upon the rollers, chains 69 being attached to the free ends of the sheets, the chains passing through rollers 69 on the frame to a roller 69 journaled on the frame, and provided with a handle whereby tomani ulate the same. By turning the handle 0 the roller 69 in the proper direction, the sheets 68 are drawn off the rollers and toward the eyes 69*, it being understood that the rollers 67 are spring actuated whereby to normally retain the sheets wound thereon. It will be noticed that the sheet connected with the mid- S heets 48 of canvas or other flexible material are wound upon the rollers 47, and

Fig; 5 shows dle roller when drawn out will occupy the central longitudinal plane of the machine, while the sheet connected with the corner rollers will be inclined with respect to said plane at an angle of approximately 45. These sheets 68 are used in guiding the 'machine, the center sheet acting to hold the device in a straightforward course, while the inclined sheets act to turn the machine.

The main framework is suitably braced by' braces or ties 70, said ties being arranged in Wheels 76 are also shown which may across the front thereof, braces in two parallel planes extending across the top of the same, a series of roller bearings mounted on the said braces in concentric circles, a plurality of propeller frames mounted on said bearings between the braces, two of said frames being located in front of the machine and 'two at the rear of the first two, the first two being in a vertical plane and the second two in horizontal'planes, a propeller in each of said frames, means for rotating the propellers in the first two frames in opposite directions, and means for rotating the other two propellers in opposite directions.

2. The combination with the frame, of a pair of propellers arranged in the same ver tical plane near the front thereof, means for driving said propellers in opposite directions, a pair of propellers arranged at the rear of the first-named propellers and in parallel horizontal planes, means for rotating said last-named propellers in opposite directions, said last-named propellers comprising inclined vanes, the edges of adjacent propellers being spaced apart from each other, and means whereby to permit the closing of the space between the vanes.

3. The combination with the frame, of a pair of vertical propellers thereon, means for rotating said ropellers in opposite directions, a pair 0 horizontal propellers on the frames, means for rotating said propellers 1n opposite directions, said horizontal propellers each comprising a series of inclined vanes, askeleton frame conne ting each pair of adjacent vanes, said frame havinga hinge connection with one of the vanes, and the other vane being rovided with an extension for overlapping t e skeleton frame.

4. An air-ship having a rotary propeller provided with pivoted wings, each wing having a projection pivotally connected with an adjacent wing, whereby the wings can be caused to close together so as to passage of air between them.

5. The combination of a frame, propellers thereon, means for operating said propellers,

prevent the a pair of frames extending from the sides of wound, and a crank or handle for rotatin each of said rods, said roller being provide with a spring for winding the sheet upon it. 6. The combination of a frame, propellers thereon, means for operating said propellers, a pair of frames extending from the sides of the main frame, said last-named frame being higher at the front than at the rear, a roiler extending alongthe outer edge ofeach of the said pair of frames, a flexible sheet adapted to be wound on said roller, flexible connections secured to said sheets, rodsupon which said connections are adapted to be wound and asteer'ing' device comprising a series of vertical rollers, a sheet adapted to be wound upon each roller, and means for drawing out said sheets from the rollers independently of each other.

7. The combination of a frame, a pair of inclined wings located alongthe sides of said frame, the amount of surface of said wings exposed tothe air being adjustable, and a steering device, comprising a plurality of vertical rollers, a plurality. of sheets, one adapted to be rolled on each: roller, and means for drawing said sheets individually toward the center of the frame to-leave. varied amounts of surface exposed to the air.

8. A steerm device, comprising three vertical rollers, three sheets, one adapted to be wound uponeach roll'er,and means for drawing said ,sheets toward a common point from said rollers.

9. An air-ship) having a steering device comprising a series of vertical sheets making an angle with each. other, and means for varyi the extent of the-surface of said sheets whic is exposed tothe air.

10.. In an air-ship, the combination of propelling means, a steering device comprising a.

series of vertical sheets, and wings located at the side of the ship-..

11.. In an air-ship, the combination of a steering device comprising vertical sheets located at the rear of the ship and extending forwardly toward the center of the ship, and inclined wings located at the side thereof.

12. An air-ship comprising a frame, inflatable bags thereon, said bags being flexible, and means for rolling up said bags into a small compass- In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WILLIAM HULL. 

